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The Detroit Red Wings know they have to be better, or their post-season will come to an abrupt end.

Having been soundly out-played in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Red Wings are aware they need a stronger push back in Game 2 Saturday.

Having two days between games should help in that department.

"(Thursday) was a great day to get re-charged. We've got to move on from Anaheim and focus on the next game," Red Wings defenceman Kyle Quincey told the media in Detroit after practice Friday. "The next game is do or die for us pretty much. Chicago's probably the best team. I think they're rated No. 1. They had a great season and they're showing that it was no fluke in the playoffs.

"They're the real deal and we've got our work cut out for us. But it's a fun challenge for us and hopefully we rise to the occasion."

The Red Wings were outshot 42-21 in the opening game of the series and had it not been for the heroics of goaltender Jimmy Howard, they would have been run out of the United Center on Wednesday.

Howard kept the Red Wings in the contest until Johnny Oduya broke a 1-1 tie eight minutes into the third period. From there the contest was a foregone conclusion with the Red Wings not having the gas to fight their way back into the game, still recovering from a tough seven-game series against the Anaheim Ducks.

"It's a game within a game," said Quincey. "If you play the whole game in your zone, you're going to be dead. I don't care how good of shape you're in, if you had rest or no rest. We turned the puck over right from the first shift in the second and we couldn't get out of our zone. When you get hemmed in your zone for a minute or two, it takes a good five or six shifts to get it back."

The Red Wings had trouble contending with the Blackhawks speed up front. Heading into the series, they wanted to muddy the waters, trying to slow down their high-flying forwards.

The strategy worked in the first period, but once the Blackhawks found their skating legs, they came at the Red Wings in waves.

"I think every time they put the puck in our end, we weren't there for the D so they just came wave by wave," said Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg. "We couldn't really get any flow going, couldn't get through the neutral zone so it's tough when you don't spend any time in their end and they spend a lot of time in yours. Eventually they will score goals."

Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp combined for five points in the Game 1 victory. Sharp led the way with a goal and two assists.

"Their forwards are world class, it's a new challenge for us," said Quincey. "Hopefully after our day off we can skate better with those guys, get our gaps a little better and just try to eliminate time and space.

"They did a good job of turning the puck over and they had us in our zone. It's tough playing the whole 20 minutes in our zone like that. A lot of stuff we did in Game 1 was to ourselves. If we play our game the way we can, I think we'll be OK."

The Red Wings are desperate for a split in Chicago with the series shifting back to Detroit for Games 3 and 4, Monday and Thursday respectively.

"I think it would be tough to go down 2-0, so (Saturday) I think if we play good enough we have a good chance of winning," said Zetterberg. "We didn't do that Game 1 so we've got a lot of things that we want to change. We've gone through it today and hopefully we can pull it off tomorrow."

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Red Wings look to even series with Blackhawks

The Detroit Red Wings know they have to be better, or their post-season will come to an abrupt end.

Having been soundly out-played in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Red Wings are aware they need a stronger push back in Game 2 Saturday.

Having two days between games should help in that department.

"(Thursday) was a great day to get re-charged. We've got to move on from Anaheim and focus on the next game," Red Wings defenceman Kyle Quincey told the media in Detroit after practice Friday. "The next game is do or die for us pretty much. Chicago's probably the best team. I think they're rated No. 1. They had a great season and they're showing that it was no fluke in the playoffs.